Over a dozen conservation groups have submitted a petition to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), urging the agency to provide better federal protection for Mexican gray wolves by listing coyotes within the wolves’ recovery area.
The groups say illegal wolf killing is the leading cause of death for the wolf, and the similarity in appearance with coyotes is a common excuse for wolves being killed.
“Outlawing coyote killing in occupied wolf habitat in Arizona and New Mexico would be a simple and effective solution to the poaching problem,” said David Parsons, former coordinator of the USFWS Mexican wolf recovery program.
“If the Service won’t prosecute people for mistakenly killing wolves, making it illegal to kill coyotes should substantially reduce Lobo mortalities.”
